Lithography using photoresist with photoinitiator and photoinhibitor

ABSTRACT

Technologies are generally described for a photoresist and methods and systems effective to form a pattern in a photoresist on a substrate. In some examples, the photoresist includes a resin, a photoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. The photoinitiator may be effective to generate a first reactant upon the absorption of at least one photon of a particular wavelength of light. The first reactant may be effective to render the resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresist developer. The photoinhibitor may be effective to generate a second reactant upon the absorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength of light. The second reactant may be effective to inhibit the first reactant.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in thissection are not prior art to the claims in this application and are notadmitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In optical lithography, a pattern may be formed on a substrate using amask. In some examples, a light sensitive photoresist layer may beapplied to the substrate. A light source may apply a beam of light tothe substrate through the mask. The pattern on the mask may cause thelight beam to expose some areas of the photoresist and block other areasof the photoresist from exposure based on the pattern. The photoresistmay react to the applied light to form the pattern on the substrate. Anoptical system may be interposed between the mask and the substrateallowing for changes in a size of the pattern exposed to the photoresistlayer.

SUMMARY

In an example, a photoresist is generally described. The photoresist mayinclude a resin, a photoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. Thephotoinitiator may be effective to generate a first reactant upon theabsorption of at least one photon of a particular wavelength of light.The first reactant may be effective to render the resin soluble orinsoluble in a photoresist developer. The photoinhibitor may beeffective to generate a second reactant upon the absorption of at leastone photon of the particular wavelength of light. The second reactantmay be effective to inhibit the first reactant.

In an example, a method for forming a pattern in a photoresist on asubstrate is generally described. The method may include applying alayer of photoresist to a substrate. The photoresist may include aresin, a photoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. The photoinitiator may beeffective to generate a first reactant upon the absorption of at leastone photon of a particular wavelength of light. The first reactant maybe effective to render the resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresistdeveloper. The photoinhibitor may be effective to generate a secondreactant upon the absorption of at least one photon of the particularwavelength of light. The second reactant may be effective to inhibit thefirst reactant. The method may include applying to the photoresist lightof the particular wavelength through a mask having a pattern to form thepattern in the photoresist.

In an example, a system effective to form a pattern in a photoresist ona substrate is generally described. The system may include a substrate,a layer of photoresist on the substrate, a light source, a mask and aprocessor. The layer of photoresist may include a resin, aphotoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. The photoinitiator may be effectiveto generate a first reactant upon the absorption of at least one photonof a particular wavelength of light. The first reactant may be effectiveto render the resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresist developer. Thephotoinhibitor may be effective to generate a second reactant upon theabsorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength of light.The second reactant may be effective to inhibit the first reactant. Themask may have a pattern. The processor may be arranged in communicationwith the light source. The processor may be effective to control thelight source to apply light through the mask and form the pattern in thesubstrate.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become morefully apparent from the following description and appended claims, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with thedisclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of itsscope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity anddetail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that can be utilized to implementoptical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiator and aphotoinhibitor;

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram for an example process for implementingoptical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiator and aphotoinhibitor;

FIG. 3 illustrates a computer program product that can be utilized toimplement optical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiatorand a photoinhibitor; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device thatis arranged to implement optical lithography using a photoresist with aphotoinitiator and a photoinhibitor;

all arranged according to at least some embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which areexplicitly contemplated herein.

This disclosure is generally drawn, inter alia, to methods, materialsand apparatus related to implementing optical lithography using aphotoresist with a photoinitiator and a photoinhibitor.

Briefly stated, technologies are generally described for a photoresistand methods and systems for forming a pattern in a photoresist on asubstrate. In some examples the photoresist includes a resin, aphotoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. The photoinitiator may be effectiveto generate a first reactant upon the absorption of at least one photonof a particular wavelength of light. The first reactant may be effectiveto render the resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresist developer. Thephotoinhibitor may be effective to generate a second reactant upon theabsorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength of light.The second reactant may be effective to inhibit the first reactant.

Other than in the working examples or where otherwise indicated, atleast some numbers expressing amounts of materials, reaction conditions,time durations, quantified properties of materials, and so forth, statedin the specification and claims are to be understood as being modifiedby the term “about.”

Any compound, material or substance which is expressly or implicitlydisclosed in the specification and/or recited in a claim as belonging toa group or structurally, compositionally and/or functionally relatedcompounds, materials or substances, includes individual representativesof the group and all combinations thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that can be utilized to implementoptical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiator and aphotoinhibitor arranged according to at least some embodiments describedherein. An example optical lithography system 100 may include asubstrate 102, a photoresist layer 104, a light source 110, an opticalsystem 154, and/or a mask 108. At least some of these elements may bearranged in communication with a processor 156 through a communicationlink 162. In some examples, processor 156 may be adapted to be incommunication with a memory 158 that includes instructions 160 storedtherein. Processor 156 may be configured, such as by instructions 160,to control at least some of the operations described below.

In an example, light source 110 may be effective to apply a beam oflight 112 of a particular wavelength effective to form a pattern in thephotoresist 104. The wavelength can be any wavelength suitable for thepurposes described herein. For example, the particular wavelength mayinclude wavelengths in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet portion ofthe electromagnetic spectrum. In an example, the particular wavelengthcan be at or above 193 nm. In an example, the particular wavelength canbe from about 300 nm to about 400 nm. In an example, the particularwavelength can be up to 800 nm. In an example, substrate 102 may be asilicon wafer. In an example, photoresist 104 may be applied onsubstrate 102 by spin coating or by some other suitable method.

In some examples, light source 110 may be configured to apply beam oflight 112 to mask 108. Based on a pattern 152 on mask 108, at least somephotons of beam 112 may pass through mask 108, through optical system154 and to photoresist layer 104. In some examples, light source 110 maybe configured to output light with a power greater than about 3 mW/cm².Mask 108 may be configured to block some photons of beam of light 112and allow other photons of beam 112 to pass through based on pattern152. In some examples, optical system 154 may be configured to refractbeam 112 to allow for a change in magnification of pattern 152 from mask108 to photoresist 104.

In an example, photoresist 104 may include a resin 170, a photoinitiator172, and/or a photoinhibitor 174. Resin 170 may be adapted to undergopolymerization or depolymerization when acted upon by beam 112.Photoinitiator 172 may be effective to generate a first reactant 176upon absorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength oflight. First reactant 176 may be effective to polymerize ordepolymerize, and/or render soluble or insoluble, resin 170 upon theabsorption of at least one photon of light at the particular wavelength.In an example, photoinitiator 172 may generate reactant 176 upon theabsorption of two or more photons of light at the particular wavelength.

Photoinhibitor 174 may be effective to generate a second reactant 178upon the absorption of at least one photon of light at the particularwavelength as that to which photoinitiator 172 is responsive. Secondreactant 178 may be effective to inhibit first reactant 176 and therebyinhibit the polymerization or depolymerization and/or the renderingsoluble or insoluble, of resin 170. In an example, the molar ratio offirst reactant 176 to second reactant 178 may range from about 1.5:1 toabout 2.5:1.

Among other possible benefits, a system in accordance with thatdescribed may be effective to produce lines in photoresist 104 of adesired width. For example, graph 140 illustrates an intensity response,or an amount of generated reactants, by photoinitiator 172 andphotoinhibitor 174 based on light of certain wavelengths. Among otherthings, graph 140 illustrates line widths that may be achieved by thecombination of photoinitiator 172 and photoinhibitor 174 in photoresist104. Curve 142 illustrates an example response, or amount of generatedreactants, of a two photon photoinitiator 172 to beam 112. As shown, aminimum line width formed by reactants generated by the two photonphotoinitiator by itself may be represented as W1.

Curve 144 illustrates an example response of a single photonphotoinhibitor 174 to beam 112. In these examples, using a single photonphotoinhibitor in conjunction with a two photon photoinitiator achievesa line width of W2, which may be smaller than W1. This may result insmaller features in the resulting pattern applied to the photoresist 104and substrate 102. In an example, line widths W2 of 50 nm or less can beachieved with beam 112 at a wavelength of 365 nm. In an example, linewidths W2 of 40 nm or less can be achieved with light at a wavelength of365 nm.

As shown in region 148, focused at a location where a feature of pattern152 is to be formed, photoinhibitor 174 may produce a lower activationintensity response, or produce less second reactant, than the firstreactant produced by two photon photoinitiator 172. In this region, beam112 generates more of first reactant 176 than second reactant 178. Asshown at 146, at a region outside a boundary of a feature of pattern152, the response of the photoinhibitor is equal to, or exceeds that ofthe photoinitiator. That is, the activation response of curve 144 of thephotoinhibitor intersects and/or crosses over curve 142 of thephotoinitiator. In region 146, more of second reactant 178 is generatedthan first reactant 176. In this example, first reactant 176 may berendered inactive and the photoresist resin is not polymerized ordepolymerized and/or not rendered soluble or insoluble. Accordingly, aresulting feature formed in the photoresist may have a narrower width ofW2, rather than the wider width W1.

In an example, two photon photoinitiator 172 may generate an acidicfirst reactant 176 upon the absorption of two photons. In an example,photoinhibitor 174 may generate a basic second reactant 178 upon theabsorption of a single photon as described below. In an example,photoinitiator 172 may include a mixture of a caged benzophenone anddiphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate ((C₆H₅)₂I(PF₆)), as illustratedbelow in Chart 1. In this example photoinitiator, the caged benzophenoneabsorber may generate a radical upon the absorption of two photons at365 nm wavelength, and the radical may combine with the diphenyliodoniumhexafluorophosphate to produce hexafluorophosphoric acid (HPF₆). Thehexafluorophosphoric acid may be capable of decomposing the resin tomake the resin soluble in a photoresist developer. A photoresistdeveloper suitable for the purposes described herein can include, forexample, water, alcohol, alkaline solutions of water using ammoniumhydroxide as the alkaline component, organic solvents such as PGMEA(Propylene Glycol Methyl Ether Acetate), etc.

More particularly, referring to Chart 1, at A, caged benzophenone may beexposed to light having photons of 365 nm wavelength. Upon theabsorption of a first photon (h<), the cage may be cleaved and amolecule of benzophenone ((C₆H₅)₂C(═O)) may be released. At B, thebenzophenone absorbs a second photon (h<) of the same wavelength andabstracts a hydrogen atom from surrounding molecules R—H to generate aradical ((C₆H₅)₂C(OH)⁺). At C, the radical reacts with thediphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate ultimately producinghexafluorophosphoric acid (HPF₆) and releasing a molecule ofbenzophenone.

In an example, photoinhibitor 174 may be Bis(ben-zophenoneoxime)-N,N′-hexamethylenediurethane. In an example, photoinhibitor 174may be a benzyl oxime ester as illustrated below in Chart 2:

Referring to Chart 2, an example benzyl oxime ester may have the formulaR₁C(O)ON═(CH₃)R₂ where, in an example, R₁ can be C₆H₅CH₂ and R₂ can be,for example, C₆H₅ or C₁₀H₇. Upon the absorption of a single photon (h<),the photoinhibitor may produce a basic amine compound R₁NH₂ as thesecond reactant. The basic second reactant 178 may inhibit the acidicfirst reactant 176.

Beam of light 112 may activate resin 170 when the acid reactant 176generated by photoinitiator 172 is greater than base reactant 178generated by photoinhibitor 174. In these examples, photoinitiator 172and photoinhibitor 174, in combination, allow for a narrowing of theline width of a pattern formed in the photoresist.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram for an example process for implementingoptical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiator and aphotoinhibitor in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein. The process in FIG. 2 could be implemented using, for example,system 100 discussed above. An example process may include one or moreoperations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more ofblocks S2, S4 and/or S6. Although illustrated as discrete blocks,various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined intofewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.Processing may begin at block S2.

At block S2, a photoresist may be formed. The photoresist may include aresin, a photoinitiator and a photoinhibitor. In some examples, thephotoinitiator and the photoinhibitor may be selected so that both arereactive at a particular wavelength of light. Processing may continuefrom block S2 to block S4.

At block S4, a system may be configured to apply a layer of thephotoresist to a substrate. Processing may continue from block S4 toblock S6.

At block S6, a system may be configured to apply light of the particularwavelength to the photoresist. In an example, the light may betransmitted through a mask having a pattern to thereby form the patternin the photoresist layer. In response to the applied light, thephotoinitiator may be effective to generate a first reactant effectiveto render the resin soluble or insoluble and the photoinhibitor may beeffective to generate a second reactant effective to inhibit the firstreactant.

FIG. 3 illustrates a computer program product that can be utilized toimplement optical lithography using a photoresist with a photoinitiatorand a photoinhibitor in accordance with at least some embodimentsdescribed herein. Program product 300 may include a signal bearingmedium 302. Signal bearing medium 302 may include one or moreinstructions 304 that, when executed by, for example, a processor, mayprovide the functionality described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.Thus, for example, referring to system 100, may undertake one or more ofthe blocks shown in FIG. 3 in response to instructions 304 conveyed tothe system 100 by medium 302.

In some implementations, signal bearing medium 302 may encompass acomputer-readable medium 306, such as, but not limited to, a hard diskdrive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape,memory, etc. In some implementations, signal bearing medium 302 mayencompass a recordable medium 308, such as, but not limited to, memory,read/write (R/W) CDs, R/W DVDs, etc. In some implementations, signalbearing medium 302 may encompass a communications medium 310, such as,but not limited to, a digital and/or an analog communication medium(e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, awireless communication link, etc.). Thus, for example, program product300 may be conveyed to one or more modules of the system 100 by an RFsignal bearing medium 302, where the signal bearing medium 302 isconveyed by a wireless communications medium 310 (e.g., a wirelesscommunications medium conforming with the IEEE 802.11 standard).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device thatis arranged to implement optical lithography using a photoresist with aphotoinitiator and a photoinhibitor according to at least someembodiments described herein. In a very basic configuration 402,computing device 400 typically includes one or more processors 404 and asystem memory 406. A memory bus 408 may be used for communicatingbetween processor 404 and system memory 406.

Depending on the desired configuration, processor 404 may be of any typeincluding but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller(μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof.Processor 404 may include one more levels of caching, such as a levelone cache 410 and a level two cache 412, a processor core 414, andregisters 416. An example processor core 414 may include an arithmeticlogic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signalprocessing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An examplememory controller 418 may also be used with processor 404, or in someimplementations memory controller 418 may be an internal part ofprocessor 404.

Depending on the desired configuration, system memory 406 may be of anytype including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combinationthereof. System memory 406 may include an operating system 420, one ormore applications 422, and program data 424. Application 422 may includea lithography using photoresist including a photoinitiator andphotoinhibitor algorithm 426 that is arranged to perform the functionsas described herein including those described with respect to system 100of FIG. 1. Program data 424 may include lithography using photoresistincluding a photoinitiator and photoinhibitor data 428 that may beuseful for patterning a photoresist as is described herein. In someembodiments, application 422 may be arranged to operate with programdata 424 on operating system 420 such that patterning may be provided.This described basic configuration 402 is illustrated in FIG. 4 by thosecomponents within the inner dashed line.

Computing device 400 may have additional features or functionality, andadditional interfaces to facilitate communications between basicconfiguration 402 and any required devices and interfaces. For example,a bus/interface controller 430 may be used to facilitate communicationsbetween basic configuration 402 and one or more data storage devices 432via a storage interface bus 434. Data storage devices 432 may beremovable storage devices 436, non-removable storage devices 438, or acombination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removablestorage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible diskdrives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compactdisk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid statedrives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storagemedia may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data.

System memory 406, removable storage devices 436 and non-removablestorage devices 438 are examples of computer storage media. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich may be used to store the desired information and which may beaccessed by computing device 400. Any such computer storage media may bepart of computing device 400.

Computing device 400 may also include an interface bus 440 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., outputdevices 442, peripheral interfaces 444, and communication devices 446)to basic configuration 402 via bus/interface controller 430. Exampleoutput devices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audioprocessing unit 450, which may be configured to communicate to variousexternal devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports452. Example peripheral interfaces 444 include a serial interfacecontroller 454 or a parallel interface controller 456, which may beconfigured to communicate with external devices such as input devices(e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device,etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via oneor more I/O ports 458. An example communication device 446 includes anetwork controller 460, which may be arranged to facilitatecommunications with one or more other computing devices 462 over anetwork communication link via one or more communication ports 464.

The network communication link may be one example of a communicationmedia. Communication media may typically be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristicsset or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may includewired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, andwireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave,infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable mediaas used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

Computing device 400 may be implemented as a portion of a small-formfactor portable (or mobile) electronic device such as a cell phone, apersonal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, awireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, an applicationspecific device, or a hybrid device that include any of the abovefunctions. Computing device 400 may also be implemented as a personalcomputer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computerconfigurations.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods andapparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to thoseenumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intendedto fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosureis to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along withthe full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It isto be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particularmethods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, whichcan, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodimentsonly, and is not intended to be limiting.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at leasttwo recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the senseone having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “ asystem having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “ a system having at least one of A, B, or C”would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone,C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting twoor more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, ordrawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities ofincluding one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. Forexample, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include thepossibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are describedin terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individualmember or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and allpurposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, allranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subrangesand combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easilyrecognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range beingbroken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths,tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein canbe readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third,etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all languagesuch as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the likeinclude the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequentlybroken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individualmember. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groupshaving 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers togroups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A photoresist comprising: at least one resin; atleast one photoinitiator effective to generate a first reactant upon theabsorption of at least two photons of a particular wavelength of lightfrom incident light, wherein the first reactant is effective to renderthe resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresist developer; and at leastone photoinhibitor effective to generate a second reactant upon theabsorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength of lightfrom the incident light, wherein the second reactant is effective toinhibit the first reactant.
 2. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein theparticular wavelength of light is greater than 193 nm.
 3. Thephotoresist of claim 1, wherein the particular wavelength of light isabout 300 nm to about 400 nm.
 4. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein thefirst reactant is an acidic compound and the second reactant is a basiccompound.
 5. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein: the first reactant isan acidic compound; the second reactant is a basic compound; and theacidic compound is effective to depolymerize the resin.
 6. Thephotoresist of claim 1, wherein the photoinitiator includes cagedbenzophenone and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate.
 7. Thephotoresist of claim 4, wherein the acidic compound ishexafluorophosphoric acid.
 8. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein thephotoinhibitor includes a benzyl oxime ester having the formula:R₁COON═C(CH₃)(R₂) wherein R₁ is C₆H₅CH₂ and R₂ is C₆H₅ or C₁₀H₇.
 9. Thephotoresist of claim 4, wherein the basic compound has the formulaC₆H₅CH₂NH₂.
 10. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio ofthe first reactant to the second reactant is about 1.5:1 to about 2.5:1.11. The photoresist of claim 1, wherein the photoinitiator includescaged benzophenone and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate and thefirst reactant is hexafluorophosphoric acid and, wherein thephotoinhibitor includes a benzyl oxime ester having the formula:R₁COON═C(CH₃)(R₂) wherein R₁ is C₆H₅CH₂, and R₂ is C₆H₅ or C₁₀H₇ and thesecond reactant has the formula C₆H₅CH₂NH₂.
 12. The photoresist of claim1, wherein when the photoinitiator and photoinhibitor absorb a firstintensity of the light of the particular wavelength, more of the secondreactant is generated than the first reactant; and when thephotoinitiator and photoinhibitor absorb a second intensity of light ofthe particular wavelength greater than the first intensity, more of thefirst reactant is generated than the second reactant.
 13. Thephotoresist of claim 1, wherein when the photoinitiator andphotoinhibitor absorb a first intensity of the light of the particularwavelength, the second reactant is effective to inhibit the firstreactant; and when the photoinitiator and photoinhibitor absorb a secondintensity of light of the particular wavelength greater than the firstintensity, the first reactant is effective to render the resin solubleor insoluble.
 14. A method for forming a pattern in a photoresist on asubstrate, the method comprising: applying a layer of photoresist to asubstrate, wherein said photoresist comprises at least one resin, atleast one photoinitiator effective to generate a first reactant upon theabsorption of at least two photons of a particular wavelength of lightfrom incidental light, wherein the first reactant is effective to renderthe resin soluble or insoluble in a photoresist developer, and at leastone photoinhibitor effective to generate a second reactant upon theabsorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength of lightfrom the incident light, wherein the second reactant is effective toinhibit the first reactant; and, applying to the photoresist light ofthe particular wavelength through a mask having a pattern to form thepattern in the photoresist.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thepattern includes lines having a width of not more than 40 nm.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the particular wavelength of light is about300 nm to 400 nm.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the photoinitiatorincludes caged benzophenone and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate andthe first reactant is hexafluorophosphoric acid, and wherein thephotoinhibitor includes a benzyl oxime ester having the formula:R₁COON═C(CH₃)(R₂) wherein R₁ is C₆H₅CH₂, and R₂ is C₆H₅ or C₁₀H₇ and thesecond reactant has the formula C₆H₅CH₂NH₂.
 18. The method of claim 14,further comprising washing the photoresist with a photoresist developerto develop the pattern.
 19. A method for forming a pattern in aphotoresist on a substrate, the method comprising: applying a layer ofphotoresist to a substrate, wherein said photoresist comprises at leastone resin, at least one photoinitiator effective to generate an acidiccompound upon the absorption of at least two photons of a particularwavelength of light from incidental light, wherein the acidic compoundis effective to render the resin soluble in a photoresist developer, andat least one photoinhibitor effective to generate a basic compound uponthe absorption of at least one photon of the particular wavelength oflight from the incident light, wherein the basic compound is effectiveto inhibit the acidic compound; and, applying to the photoresist lightof the particular wavelength through a mask having a pattern to form thepattern in the photoresist wherein the pattern includes lines having awidth of not more than 40 nm.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising washing the photoresist with a photoresist developer todevelop the pattern.